11 Struggles Only City People With Tiny Kitchens Understand

When I tell people I live in Los Angeles, their first assumption is that I have more space than everyone living in New York. And here's the thing: Yes, that's true, but I still live in a big city, which doesn't guarantee a sprawling living room and a beautiful kitchen fit for a queen and/or Betty Draper. My first big city apartment, which I’ve since moved out of, had a galley kitchen. (For those of you unfamiliar with a galley kitchen, it's a terrible architectural decision where they put a stove, sink and fridge in the hallway and call it a kitchen.) I didn't know how the New Yorker with the bathroom in his kitchen felt until I had a galley kitchen.

I recently moved, and while there are many great things about my new apartment, I still run into inevitable space issues. I don't have much storage space, my closet is small, and my bathroom is a claustrophobic area where dreams go to die. All of that I can deal with, but I occasionally lament the size of my kitchen. It's doable, but constricting to say the least. Two people can't cook together comfortably, and dealing with our dishes and cabinet space is a struggle. Here are 11 struggles only people with tiny kitchens understand:

1. You Never Have Anywhere To Put Your Dishes

Because there is honestly not enough counter space for a dish rack. So you end up putting a dish rack in your sink, which is great — but also takes up half the sink, which is annoying as hell.

2. And When Two Of Your Dishes Are Dirty, It Looks Like The Sink Is Full

And it creates a truly gross aesthetic. When you go to do the dishes, you're always clanging against a part of the sink because it's too damn small. Nine times out of ten, the dish situation look worse than it is because the kitchen sink is so tiny.

3. Counter Space Is Precious

And you need to meticulously plan out how to use every inch of it.

4. You Have A Ridiculous Amount Of Solutions For Making Microwaveable Foods, Because Your Apartment Can't Fit A Microwave

But, like, you're powering through. You can make ramen and popcorn on the stove, after all. And who needs to heat up leftovers in a tupperware, when you could reduce your carbon footprint by eating the pasta cold? (Help me.)

5. You Had To Get Rid Of Most Of Your Oven Pans When You Moved In

Because you have nowhere to store them, and they don't fit in your tiny oven anyway.

6. Putting Up Shelves And A Spice Rack Has Been On Your To Do List For As Long As You Can Remember

You're getting to it.

7. Sometimes You're Tempted To Order Out Just Because It Would Save You The Chore Of Dealing With Cooking In Your Pint-Sized Kitchen

You know what involves no clean up? Chinese takeout.

8. If You Have A Galley Kitchen, More Than One Person Has Referred To It As Panic Attack-Inducing Space

And you don't want to admit it, but it stresses you out daily.

9. You're Not One Of Those People Who "Casually Entertains" In Their Kitchen

You don't have room to have people "mingling" near the kitchen. You need them to get the hell out of the kitchen, and schmooze in the living room, or in any other corner of the apartment that they can find. There honestly isn't room to cook and carry on a conversation at the same time.

10. You've Taken To Storing Snacks Or Booze In Your Room Because There's Simply No Room For It In The Kitchen